Joining forces makes sense as plans for combined Tees Valley authority gathers pace

LAST week the leaders of all five Tees Valley local authorities proposed to establish a statutory Combined Authority. A period of consultation starts on December 10, before a formal plan is presented to Government.

If this goes ahead Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees will make plans together for the local economy, transport, infrastructure and skills. The design and delivery of local services, though, will still be their own responsibility.

This is another big step forward, following the establishment of a Local Enterprise Partnership two years ago. And more recently, gaining Key City status from government; giving Tees Valley Unlimited its own voice at the table, alongside similar authorities centred on Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle.

But do we need two strategic authorities in North East England? Are Tees Valley’s social and economic interests that different? And by working on its own – won’t that mean that the two areas will be at loggerheads - rather than pitching in together to get things sorted?

Tees Valley local authorities already work together. In the past this was led to some extent by government big money initiatives to regenerate the area. Other agencies also worked for the whole area, such as Business Link, Connexions and the Learning and Skills Councils. But then things started to change. Local agencies were absorbed into bigger outfits based in Newcastle, alongside One North East and Government Office.

So Tees Valley got a bit of a reputation, up north, for grumbling about only getting the crumbs from under the Tyneside table. Whether this is true or not, means little now. By the time the coalition had been in power for a year or two, these organisations were all gone.

Surely Tees Valley is being daft by going it alone? Wouldn’t everyone be stronger together? I think that Tees Valley is right because it will help, not hinder, the North East to become stronger. Let’s set aside the economics for now, and leave that to the people who know their onions. The way that relationships work is much more interesting – and that’s something we all know about.

Many leaders in Tees Valley got a sense that they were an afterthought to the powers that be in Newcastle. Nobody wants to feel that they are going to a meeting with cap in hand. Especially so if they felt that they were received by people who were sitting on their hands and not listening properly.

Good relationships are built on mutual respect, trust and reciprocity. They don’t even have to be equal. But they do need to allow for argument on the level - and a chance, when needed, to say “no, that’s not what we want”. When the smaller Tees Valley wants to work with the bigger North East Local Enterprise Partnership it needs to feel strong and pitch on its own terms.

Let’s not forget that, economically, Tees Valley is a big hitter: with one of the biggest integrated industrial concentrations in Europe. The fate of Teesside’s economy is undoubtedly played out on a global canvas – so its big industries have always had to look at the big picture and know how to fight their corner.

In other ways, the five towns of the Tees Valley feel quite small. Many from the outside have tried to tell the area to a build city-scale world-class centre to emulate ‘other’ places. But that can’t easily happen. Towns with distinct interests don’t want to share some things and won’t water down their sense of identity.

The point is to be able to ‘see the wood for the trees’ and recognise what’s a local priority and what’s not. A new statutory authority would have to tackle area-wide issues such as transport and skills. And do we need it! Professor Alan Townsend’s research on commuting in Tees Valley shows that there is enormous movement between areas.

About 40% of Middlesbrough’s working residents leave in the morning for a job somewhere else and nearly 50% of the town’s working population arrive from elsewhere. Thousands leave Tees Valley to work – and with Hitachi opening in Newton Aycliffe - that may grow. So there’s no point in having a skills and transport strategy just for Darlington or Hartlepool because the labour force isn’t glued down that way.

With the five council leaders, industrialists and the CBI, amongst others, on side - the proposed authority has a lot of backing. This is because it will strengthen the area’s resolve to work together. And it will make sure that Tees Valley has a voice in Government alongside its neighbouring northern authorities.

When it suits – these authorities will need to work together – big or small, near or far. But let’s face it, it’s easier to fall out and then make up from a position of strength – than to feel, rightly or wrongly, that someone else is always calling the tune.

Tony Chapman is a Professorial Fellow at St. Chad’s College, Durham University